Charles Byrd Wade Jr. was born on this day in 1915, in Morehead City, to Charles Byrd and Bessie Ormond Wade.
He graduated from Duke University, majoring in history. He joined R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in 1938, then enlisted in the Army and served during World War II.
After the war he returned to R. J. Reynolds and became personnel manager in 1949. He rose in the company to be elected to the board of directors in 1955. He resigned from the company as senior vice-president of R. J. Reynolds Industries in 1976.
Wade continued his association with Reynolds for several more years, traveling abroad for RJR’s international advisory board, and supervising the construction of the Reynolds Plaza.
Wade had a love for music, and at Duke he was a member of the symphony and business manager of the Instrumental Music Association. He served as chairman of the North Carolina Symphony.
He was chairman of Duke’s trustees in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and was instrumental in hiring former governor, Terry Sanford, as president of Duke University.
Wade served on the boards of several companies and organizations. He was president of Old Salem Inc., the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce, and the North Carolina Citizens Association.
He had an interest in North Carolina history, and in the 1980s he helped raise money to build the Queen Elizabeth II, a replica of a 16th century English ship that was built for the 400th anniversary of the first English voyage to North Carolina.
Wade married Margaret Patterson. He passed away in 1994.
The photo above was taken in 1968, at the presentation to Wade of the National Brotherhood Citation of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, Inc.
Photo courtesy of Forsyth County Public Library Photograph Collection.
